ECLIPSED
Departures From The Landscapes Within
'Far from the land they know and they are known in,
surrounded by The Oceans of Silence
there is a space where time and place are fluid,
the landscapes they know become a mirage;
always there ... but out of reach.
At times they live within it
other times it lives within them
since they have been ECLIPSED.'
Eclipsed is a tale inspired by our life experiences told in a theatrical language in which Beckett meets physical theatre.
The audience will encounter the story of a man and a woman who are trapped in a visceral space and time with no escape—no way back to their sweet past and no future visible on the horizon of their decaying relationship. While the audience will witness a couple's journey through life, for the performers, the concept is that each one perceives their homeland in the other. Their interactions—whether physical, verbal, or emotional—are as if they are engaging with their respective country. Within this dual journey, the characters sometimes become like performers who come out of their roles as they struggle to make sense of their story/play, and at times resist moving forward, making unsuccessful attempts to recreate scenes from their past, adding to the absurdity of their present.
We the performers -Maryam Davari (Iranian) and Manuel Lavandera (Argentinian)- are both first-generation migrants who left our home countries over a decade ago and settled in the UK working as physical theatre actors and performers and while we have worked together for years, Eclipsed is our first duo performance.
Our starting point is our shared experience of being far from home. Our method of creating theatre involves improvising dialogue (and content) first, and once we are satisfied with the content, we then improvise the movements, create the scenes, and juxtapose them together. Our use of dialogue is minimal and together with our physical positioning and movement, we aim for each word to leave a lasting impression, much like in poetry. Our artistic inspirations include Spanish and Persian poetry, Japanese Butoh dance, and contact improvisation.
The aim of our performance is to provide insight into the visceral life of a migrant and connect this experience to the universal human experience of constantly migrating through different ages and stages of life. By making this connection we aim to introduce a bridge between self and other within the community. Through this duo we aim to explore what is lost and what is found throughout life’s journeys and reflect on our endless transitions, the constant struggles, and the hope for eventual arrival.
The creative journey that we have just begun is only the start of what we hope to continue and dedicate most of our time to. We believe that our life and work experiences have given us many stories to share and using our shared creative form of expression we are aiming to offer our stories to diverse communities.
